Awhile back, I had the privilege of getting an early peek at Ellen Urbani’s much-anticipated forthcoming novel, Landfall. Set in the midst of Hurricane Katrina, the novel is not so much about the storm but about the maelstrom of our human lives and, specifically, the sudden collision of two pairs of women, mothers and daughters,Continue reading “Ellen Urbani’s novel Landfall and your book club”
Category Archives: fiction
Lidia Yuknavitch launches tshirts, and also her new novel, The Small Backs of Children
Last night, at Powell’s City of Books, the people of Portland, OR experienced magic. When I say the people of Portland, I don’t literally mean the whole city, but I very nearly mean it. For those not in the know, Powell’s famously takes up an entire city block, and last night, our literary crowd climbed to theContinue reading “Lidia Yuknavitch launches tshirts, and also her new novel, The Small Backs of Children”
Hagridden cut through Kindle like a Bowie knife
You all are amazing! Last week, my publisher offered Hagridden for free on Kindle, and in those few weekdays, more than 500 of you grabbed a digital copy of my book! That sudden momentum rocketed Hagridden up through the overall Kindle ranks, and y’all drove Hagridden to #1 in the War genre for Kindle books (it is set inContinue reading “Hagridden cut through Kindle like a Bowie knife”
The Jersey Devil celebrates the 4th by dropping burnt hot dogs for its pet dinosaur
Happy barbecue and sky-explosions, America! So how does Jersey Devil Press celebrate? The AMERICAN way! We ride wild mutant hogs, swallow bees, practice a little alchemy, hit the nudie bar of the undead, and build really big walls. Just like our Founding Fathers did. And yes, the Jersey Devil does indeed now have a petContinue reading “The Jersey Devil celebrates the 4th by dropping burnt hot dogs for its pet dinosaur”
Hagridden is FREE on Kindle this week
I’ve been posting about this on Facebook and Twitter since yesterday — and loads of kind friends and fans have been sharing the news as well — but in case you hadn’t heard: Hagridden is free! That’s right: it’s Fourth of July Week, and for this week only, my independent publisher, Columbus Press, has given everyone theContinue reading “Hagridden is FREE on Kindle this week”
Crayons, conflicts, crises, and catastrophes: how I’m outlining my new novel
When I was in grad school, I once participated in a group presentation on Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. I forget what all the group as a whole wound up saying, but I remember clearly that my first instinct was to focus on that famous first chapter, where the author of the book (Vonnegut himself?) explains why and how he wentContinue reading “Crayons, conflicts, crises, and catastrophes: how I’m outlining my new novel”
Texas Rising — and rising . . . and . . . mercifully, it’s gone
It’s over, folks. At long, long last, the Texas Rising series is finished. But hang in there, because I still have to write about this last episode, which I’ve done more or less in the order it was presented us, mostly because of some problems I want to point out with both the narrative and theContinue reading “Texas Rising — and rising . . . and . . . mercifully, it’s gone”
Texas Rising — some comments before the last episode
Tonight, the final episode of Texas Rising airs, and yes, exhausted though I was after even the first episode, I am sticking it out to the end and I’ll blog about it tomorrow. In the meantime, my posts so far attracted the attention of the Wall Street Journal, and ten days ago I had aContinue reading “Texas Rising — some comments before the last episode”
Texas Rising — in a cloud of dust and a fog of history
When I was a boy living in Texas, I loved The Dukes of Hazzard. I watch their TV show constantly, I had the General Lee in both Hot Wheels size and the large action-figure size because I also had the action figures of Bo and Luke Duke. I often had them mingle with my actionContinue reading “Texas Rising — in a cloud of dust and a fog of history”
Texas Rising — a yellow rose blooms, but mind the thorns
So, before I get into the third episode of Texas Rising, I would like to start with the show’s own disclaimer: “The following program is a dramatic interpretation of Texas’ fight for independence. Viewer discretion is advised.” I suppose the “viewer discretion” they advise is to focus on the “interpretation” part and not take any of this tooContinue reading “Texas Rising — a yellow rose blooms, but mind the thorns”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 